Celebrating Success! – Dispatch #5 – (Archive)

Celebrating Success

Last night Delta City Council approved two affordable housing projects in Ladner and Tsawwassen that will add 350 homes for seniors, families, and individuals with disabilities! I’m told that the meeting was ‘eventful’ and I hope to go back and watch the tape to hear the arguments that were made for and against these great applications. Good work to all of you who filled out surveys on Let’s Talk Delta and wrote to Council in support of these projects! It’s great to see several major projects getting approval and it’s a sign that there’s a new readiness in Delta to take concrete steps to address our housing crisis. 

Welcoming New Del-POP Members

We’ve had several more folks join the Del-POP mailing list and we are so glad that you’ve shown interest in becoming a part of our motley crew. As we find our feet as an organization, we want to use your talents and get more of us engaged in advocacy for better land use and more housing in Delta! Spread the word with friends that municipal government is where the action is at! 

We will be holding our monthly meeting this upcoming Thursday (September 16th) at 7:30 in Ladner at the Pop-Up Park on Bridge St (weather permitting).

If it’s raining, we’ll meet on Zoom

Upcoming Projects Needing Support

Action Item: Write City Council in Support of Purpose-Built Rental Homes (Tsawwassen)https://letstalk.delta.ca/lu009115This fantastic project on 56th Street in Delta is coming to Council for 1st and 2nd readings and it’s a great opportunity to write to Council and encourage them to support this project. There have been some … frustrating?… letters to Council and reactions in the Optimist to this project that are definitely not representative of the broader community but will be held up as evidence unless there is a stronger outpouring of support for this project. If you’d like some ideas on what to write, I would be happy to chat with you!Email: mayor-council@delta.ca
Action Item: Support the construction of 35 new homes at 83 Ave and 115 Street on Let’s Talk Delta (North Delta)https://letstalk.delta.ca/lu009100Del-POP exists to speak up about great projects that will benefit the community, improve the public realm, and add needed housing to our neighbourhoods. This project does all those things really well!
NEW Action Item: Write Council in Support of the construction of 20 new homes at 16th Ave (Tsawwassen) by September 17thA local builder has teamed up with the Beach Grove Golf Course to parcel off a small section of streetfront in order to build 20 new homes in Tsawwassen. The proceeds from the project will help the golf course to continue to operate for many years to come and the townhomes will provide housing for families and individuals within walking distance of the Tsawwassen Town Centre. Interestingly, the initial proposal that the builders brought to the City was to build several $$$ single detached houses and the City staff told them to come back with a proposal that incorporated more units in such a key location. The build team came back with a proposal for 22 townhomes and that was subsequently whittled down to 20. The upshot is that this project is a good example of the challenges that are faced by locals who want to make an impact in the community by building more housing. Check out the details at https://zen16.com/community-perspectives/ to see how many changes have been incorporated (and consider how every one of those changes serves to increase the cost of the units by limiting the # of units and increasing the build costs for them). This project is coming to council for 1st and 2nd reading at the September 20th meeting and then it will, if given preliminary approval, continue to 3rd reading after the public hearing. If you can write in to share your thoughts on this project, that would be great. All of our correspondence is added to the file on each of these projects and is factored into the report that goes to Council before 3rd reading. 

Policies and Plans

The City’s proposed Housing Action Plan is an important but limited step forward. I would encourage you to check it out on Let’s Talk Delta and to consider the 8 Strategies that are being considered. My initial reaction is that the bulk of the proposed actions are to “further study” specific issues which is frustrating because the urgency of the moment suggests that more concrete actions should be taken.

What’s your take on it?

If you’ve had a chance to review it and want to share your findings, let me know and we’ll schedule you to be our presenter at the next Del-POP meeting! 

The Ladner Village Revitalization plan is also up for discussion right now and we will want to be even more engaged in that process (especially if you’re a Ladner resident). Taylor Verrall will be distributing more material soon about how we can be positive voices in a debate with the negative naysayers who have been spreading falsehoods about the plan and refusing to allow for the possibility of change (and more people) in Ladner Village.  

Wrap Up

I’m really excited for our first in-person Del-POP meeting (weather permitting at the Bridge St Pop Up Park in Ladner) and I’m also looking forward to setting up future meetings in North Delta and Tsawwassen (to spread the love). 

Wishing you well, Norm

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